A bakery is good. A French bakery, when done properly, is great. I hadn’t been to the first location of Julien Boulangerie (in Brooklyn) but was intrigued when I saw signage going up in a relatively nearby spot on 96th and Madison. At least based on their Instagram, they were churning out legit French pastries and I wanted in.
Since yesterday’s weather was gorgeous, I decided to plan a long walk, built around some errands I needed to run. And whaddaya know? That walk would take me right past Julien Boulangerie. I figured walking the mile to the bakery (plus another 2 miles after for my other errands) would make it slightly more ok to eat whatever treats I bought there.
The space is small but they’ve got a nice variety in the pastry case. Up top they’ve got breads and savory sandwiches. I’m going to have to go back for some of these. On the bottom, there’s eclairs, tarts, and savory pastries. All in all, there are about 10-12 beautiful, different pastries. There are also smaller bites like macarons and madeleines if you just want a little something.
I also love all the pantry goods. I spied cookies and cereals that I loved in France but have had a tough time finding here in the US. It’s nice to know I can grab some BN cookies here if I’m feeling nostalgic.
Since it was just me, I tried to exhibit restraint so I just got a canelle (one of my favorite treats) and a fig tarte. I love fruit tarts and was intrigued by the super flaky looking crust. Berries, apricots, pears…I’ve seen all these as tart toppings but fig was a new one for me so I had to try. I thought the canelle was very good but the interior was the teeniest bit too dense and the exterior had the teeniest too much chew. Basically, I’m comparing it to Dominique Ansel’s and nobody does a canelle better than them. The tarte was absolutely perfect. The figs were perfectly ripe and thanks to that unique crust, the cream to pastry ratio was ideal.
Peaches to Apples 